Aaron, come on man…from someone using BY and JS, who were a 100 years before Gospel Through the Ages???.
If the message is the same, why not use quotes from them directly? There is a difference - too much for me to encapsulate in a single post.
Also Wikipedia? You do know anyone can write what ever they like in Wikipedia?
Yes. What does that have to do with anything? The facts still exist. If you can find evidence to the contrary, feel free to update the wiki.
Try reading the forward to the manual and teh review in LDS periodicals, and the fact you can still purchase the manual at Church owned Desert Books?
Yes. I have it on LDS bookshelf. It may have been fully endorsed at the time of publication, but now it has a disclaimer on it saying it doesn't represent the Church. Probably because the culture has changed and it no longer fits. Again, we're talking about narrative, not the gospel itself.
I do have a clear understanding of LDS doctrine from folks like Hunter, both he and his father, Talmage, Richards, JFS, McConkie, SWK, David O McKay, Peterson, Penrose, Widstoe, and alike, I literally have a few hundred books from men like these…Aaron these men were not afraid to teach and expound.
It's Talmagism that I reject, that the Church decided to go with because it's socially more palatable. Everything that followed is simply parroting that narrative. And, upon deeper examination, people realize it doesn't work. You can't just write off the Lectures on Faith other doctrines by Brigham Young. You just have to receive them in their context, and get the truthfulness for yourself according to the Spirit.
I'm in a no win scenario here. I take the criticism given to Mormons to heart of picking and choosing teachings. I embrace the teaching given, and then I'm attack for not following the Church leaders that have done so. Which leader should I choose Brigham Young or Eliza R Snow? I choose the superior priesthood authority.
Can you point me to one commentary type of book from a GA in the past 25 years of so, that gets into any detail of doctrinal commentary…I’ll buy it if you do.
That's evidence to my point.
About 30 years ago or so, ETB said the BoM was being overlooked.
Ten years later, they stop with the indoctrinating lessons, make a more scripture based teaching, and have missionaries teach by the Spirit. Another ten years later, they do the same thing with the Youth lessons, and they publish gospel topic Essays, being honest about the facts "anti-normons" shared were true.
Now, all church lessons, with the exception of Gospel principles are purely scriptural based.
Why? Because leaders of the church aren't stupid. They realized the church goes beyond Utah boarders and can't get away with the teachings that only worked within the Utah bubble.
Aaron, starting with the Encyclopedia of Mormonism (1992), and church funded sites like Farm’s and Fair, and the Neal Maxwell Institute,..the brethren are silent of any real doctrinal commentary..100% percent so.
Exactly! They're being congruent with with the approach they used to convert investigators in the first place - read and pray about the BoM, find out for yourself that it's true. And you're going to faulth them for that?
ETB:
"Now, we have not been using the Book of Mormon as we should. Our homes are not as strong unless we are using it to bring our children to Christ. Our families may be corrupted by worldly trends and teachings unless we know how to use the book to expose and combat falsehoods in socialism, rationalism, etc. Our missionaries are not as effective unless they are “hissing forth” with it. Social, ethical, cultural, or educational converts will not survive under the heat of the day unless their taproots go down to the fulness of the gospel which the Book of Mormon contains. Our Church classes are not as spirit-filled unless we hold it up as a standard. The situation in the world will continue to degenerate unless we read and heed the words of God and quit building up and upholding secret combinations, which the Book of Mormon tells us proved the downfall of ancient civilizations.
Some of the early missionaries, on returning home, were reproved by the Lord in section 84 of the Doctrine and Covenants because they had treated lightly the Book of Mormon. As a result, their minds had been darkened. The Lord said that this kind of treatment of the Book of Mormon brought the whole Church under condemnation, even all of the children of Zion. And then the Lord said, “And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon.” (See D&C 84:54–57.) Are we still under that condemnation?
Reading the Book of Mormon is one of the greatest persuaders to get men on missions. We need more missionaries. But we also need better-prepared missionaries coming out of wards and branches and homes where they know and love the Book of Mormon. A great challenge and day of preparation is at hand for missionaries to meet and teach with the Book of Mormon. We need missionaries to match our message.
And now grave consequences hang on our response to the Book of Mormon:
“Those who receive it in faith,” said the Lord, “and work righteousness, shall receive a crown of eternal life;
“But those who harden their hearts in unbelief, and reject it, it shall turn to their own condemnation—
“For the Lord God has spoken it.” (D&C 20:14–16.)
Is the Book of Mormon true? Yes.
Who is it for? Us.
What is its purpose? To bring men to Christ.
How does it do this? By testifying of Christ and revealing His enemies.
How are we to use it? We are to get a testimony of it, we are to teach from it, we are to hold it up as a standard and “hiss it forth.”
Have we been doing this? Not as we should, nor as we must.
Do eternal consequences rest upon our response to this book? Yes, either to our blessing or to our condemnation."
The Book of Mormon Is the Word of God
The Book of Mormon Is the Word of God
www.churchofjesuschrist.org